Ugandan opposition leader says political climate going from 'bad to worse' ahead of 2026 election

Uganda's leading opposition figure said the political climate has “gone from bad to worse” before presidential polls set for early next year.

Bobi Wine said there have been more threats on his life and other activists mobilising against Uganda's longtime president.

Wine, a singer-turned-lawmaker whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said the threats he faces as President Yoweri Museveni’s main opponent “come in no unclear terms.”

Fears for Wine's safety have grown in recent months, fueled by regular attacks on X from Museveni’s son and presumptive heir, army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

In January, Kainerugaba wrote he “would cut off” Wine’s head if the president allowed it, and he drew widespread criticism in May for saying he was holding Wine’s missing bodyguard “in my basement.” The bodyguard later appeared unable to walk without support when presented in court, the apparent victim of torture.

“It’s a constant reminder that the threat is real, because this is no ordinary person,” Wine said, speaking of Gen. Kainerugaba.

Wine, 43, spoke to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview at the headquarters of his National Unity Platform party in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, a site briefly occupied by security forces in a raid last month.

'Ghetto president'

Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986, and dismisses Wine as an agent of foreign interests and has even questioned his patriotism. But Wine denies the allegations, has a large following among working-class people in urban areas and his party has the most seats of any opposition party in Uganda's Parliament.

In the 2021 election, Wine secured 35 percent of the vote, while Museveni, with 58 percent, posted his worst-ever result. That established Wine as the president's most potent challenger in decades. Wine alleged his victory was stolen through widespread ballot stuffing and other malpractices. Electoral authorities disputed the allegations.Fgh

Wine’s party claims dozens of its followers have been jailed or disappeared since 2021. Wine said the attacks are meant to “send fear down the nerves of all those that work with me and all those that stand for what I stand for.”

Wine and Museveni are set to face each other again in presidential polls scheduled for January 2026.

Museveni has been campaigning in recent days in Kampala as he tries to bolster his chances among people likely to support Wine, urban dwellers often without a reliable source of income and who hope a change of government will benefit them.

Wine often describes himself as a “ghetto president,” citing his early days in a poor neighborhood in Kampala.

His election to a parliamentary seat in 2017 marked his formal entry into national politics.

Wine told the AP he is mobilising his supporters to show up in what he calls a “protest vote” against everything he believes is wrong with the government. But his attempts to hold rallies across Uganda are often thwarted by security forces who cite a need to protect public order.

Kainerugaba, the army chief, recently said that government-provided guards will protect all presidential candidates, a warning to Wine and others against making private security arrangements.

Kainerugaba's stated presidential ambitions have exacerbated fears of family rule in a country that has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1962.

Yet, he said, his resistance has only increased in the face of pressure.

“Our resolve has become firmer," he said.